diff --git a/packages/github/README.md b/packages/github/README.md
index 70f93487..f055f004 100644
--- a/packages/github/README.md
+++ b/packages/github/README.md
@@ -76,7 +76,7 @@ There may be cases where multiple events have a field you need. For example, we
 ```js
 const github = require('@actions/github');
 const payload = github.context.payload
-if ("issue" in payload) {
+if (payload && "issue" in payload) {
   core.info(`The issue number is: ${JSON.stringify(payload.issue.number)}`)
 }
 ```